An unexpected love
by Kelidra
Summary: Six months after PE1 (A continuation of PE1-A different ending) Maeda comes back to New York and things begin to change between him and Aya... ^_~ Reviews are appreciated, but no flames because otherwise I will use them to cook marshmellows!!!
1. The opera

Author's Note: I do not own Parasite Eve or any of the characters in it, so please don't   
sue me because all you will get is 64 cents, a computer, and some pocket lent.  
  
  
Parasite Eve: A (slightly) different ending  
  
Yesterday was a long day and Aya, Daniel, and Maeda were in desperate need of   
some time off. It just so happened that the opera ruined on Christmas Eve was   
rescheduled for tonight.  
Aya woke up in her Soho apartment around eleven 'o clock, trying to catch up on   
a week's worth of lost sleep. The phone rang, jolting her awake.  
"Hello?" she answered groggily.  
"Good morning, sleepyhead."  
"Daniel! What's up?"  
"I thought you'd still be asleep, considering everything that's happened.   
Actually, Maeda wanted me to call you."  
Aya perked up at this. "Really?"  
"Yeah. The opera's been rescheduled for tonight, and since it's the opening night,   
he was wondering if you wanted to go with him—uh, I mean, us."  
"He actually said that? What else did he say?"  
Daniel laughed knowingly. "Well, why don't you ask him at the theater tonight?"  
"Okay, if you insist," Aya joked. "See you guys tonight!"  
  
Later that day…  
The limousine dropped off Aya and Ben at Carnegie Hall just in time for the   
show.   
"C'mon Aya! Here, take my hand!" Ben said as he got out of the limo.  
"Thank you, Ben." Aya was a sight to behold, wearing a long, ankle-length silver   
spaghetti-strap dress with a high slit up one side and matching platform heels. For this   
occasion, she wore a gorgeous necklace that just happened to be one of the good-luck   
charms Maeda had given her.  
Daniel and Maeda drove to the theater in Daniel's police car and arrived just after   
Aya and Ben.  
"Hey, Daniel," Aya greeted them. "Hey, Maeda."  
"I… I'm not too good with these social events," Daniel remarked.  
"Nah, not me!" Ben piped up. "I love these things!"  
"We have to make up for Christmas Eve."  
Maeda was nervous as usual, but it seemed even more so tonight. "This is my   
first time, so… I'm… I'm nervous."  
Ben laughed. "That's 'cause you're with Aya and she's all dressed up and   
pretty!"  
Maeda turned nearly beet-red at this… even though he knew it was true.   
"What?! No, that's not it! Of course not!"  
Aya tapped Maeda on the shoulder. "It's starting. Shall we?" She took his arm   
and they went inside. In the hall, Aya and Maeda were sitting next to each other. But   
where are Daniel and Ben?  
"Daniel and Ben are late, aren't they?"  
"They'd better hurry," Aya said. "It's going to start any minute now."  
"Uh… the restroom must be really crowded. Yes, that's probably it." Anyone   
who was around them could tell he wanted to say something "special" to her.   
"What's wrong?" Aya asked. "You seem tense." Hehe…  
"Uh… er… um… yes, of course."  
"What?" She wondered what he was trying to say.  
"Oh, uh… Well, since I'm going back to Japan tomorrow I might as well—"  
Daniel and Ben finally arrived and took their places on either side of Aya and   
Maeda.  
"Sorry we're late. Just had to pay a visit to the toilet fairy," Daniel quipped.  
Aya laughed. "That's quite all right."  
The performance begins. The actress who takes the role of Eva is another one.  
~ On stage ~  
Prince: Father, please give me permission to marry Eva.  
King: I FORBID IT! You know well what will happen if you do! Those who succumb   
to her beauty ALL die in horrible ways!  
  
Prince: You don't understand! SHE is the one who has suffered after the deaths.  
  
King: She is EVIL! Guard! Grab her! And burn her at the stake!  
  
~~~~  
  
At this time, our characters see fire flaming…. They all stand up.  
  
The flames were coming from the guard's torch.  
  
Prince: Father! If you are sentencing her to death… then I ask you to take my life along   
with hers.  
  
Eva: Edward!  
  
~ End stage scene ~  
  
  
"Um… would you mind sitting?" someone behind them asked. "We can't see."  
"Sorry," Daniel said, and they sat back down.  
For the first time she could remember, Aya was nervous too. "Um… Maeda?"  
"Yes… Aya?" Maeda replied.  
"Um… I just wanted you to know… You don't have to be so nervous around   
me."  
"Really?" Aya was one of the first women he had really been attracted to since he   
began work at his university. All the research he conducted didn't leave much time for   
life outside of work. It wasn't very "scientific" of him to admit this, but when he first   
met the beautiful policewoman a week ago, he knew it was "love at first sight." There   
was no way to prove this in a laboratory, but somehow he knew that she was the "one."  
She looked into his eyes and replied, "Really." She tentatively took his hand.  
Ben observed this and gave a thumbs-up sign to his father. To Aya's surprise,   
Maeda gave her hand a slight squeeze in response to her own. Maybe she could get him   
to come out of his shell. 


	2. Flight 733

A/N:  I do not own Parasite Eve.  Thanx for all the great reviews!!  I know Aya/Maeda is a rare coupling on this site, but after playing PE1, it seemed like they had such a deep connection that I felt compelled to write something!  Anyhoo, hope you enjoy!  Keep the reviews coming!  

Chapter 2 – Aya's POV 

            It's now been six months since the Eve incident.  Maeda called me last week to tell me that he's coming back to New York—for good!  He got dual citizenship and was transferred to New York University.  Truth be told, I couldn't wait to see him again.

            So the next morning at about ten o' clock, I met Maeda at the airport.  I left my apartment at eight-thirty, thinking there would be lots of traffic on the way to the airport.  But there really wasn't any traffic to speak of, so I was left with a lot of time to kill before his plane arrived.  True to my monthly habit, I bought the latest issue of Cosmo so I'd have some reading material while I waited.

            "American Airlines Flight 733 from Tokyo will be arriving in five minutes," the PA system blared about a half hour later.

            I looked up from my magazine and went to wait at the gate.  Maeda finally emerged from the plane after about five minutes, making eye contact with me every step of the way.

            I was speechless.

            He was gorgeous.

            When he approached me, there was no need for words.  I just fell into his arms, not caring if we were drawing attention.  

            "I missed you," he whispered, still holding me.

            I felt myself becoming choked up.  "I missed you too."  I didn't want to let go.  

He had changed so much—he was very well dressed, wearing all black (which just happened to look great on him), his hair was combed and gelled, and he had contacts!  His English was near perfect, but I already knew this from talking with him on the phone.  Still, I'd be lying if I didn't say that all this was a dramatic change.

"You look great," I finally said.

"Thanks.  As always, so do you," Maeda replied.  We started walking and he took my hand.  I felt as giddy as a schoolgirl.  

"So," I questioned, wearing a big smile, "can you explain to me how you changed so much in only six months' time?"

"I owe it all to Daniel.  He was the one who told me that I should start thinking about other things besides science.  After I went back to Japan, I realized that he was right."

"Well, if we ever get out of here," I said, referring to the now crowded airport, "do you want to get some lunch?  My treat."

"Yeah," Maeda replied.  "I'd like that."

Lunch was great.  Maeda and I went to a trendy new Cajun restaurant called The French Quarter.  Cajun food was a new experience for both of us and we weren't disappointed in the least.  I loved it!  Especially the crawdads.  We must have stayed there for at least two hours, talking about what we'd been up to for the past six months.  We hit it off so well that it felt like he'd never left at all.  Ever since we first met, I felt like we had some sort of a connection that I couldn't explain, and seeing him again only strengthened what I felt before.

After lunch, we went for a walk in Central Park, which had also changed for the better.  Every trace of Eve's destruction was gone.  New York City was finally back to normal.

"So do you think there will ever be another episode like the Eve incident?" Maeda asked.

"God, I hope not.  I lost a week's worth of sleep over that damned Eve, so I can't even imagine going through all that again."  I paused.  "But…  I suppose not all of it was that bad.  If not for Eve…  then I probably never would have met you."  I felt kind of nervous telling him this (which obviously gave away how I felt about him), even though I knew he'd liked me forever.

"I know how you feel, but there's really no way to tell whether it'll happen again or not," he replied.  "Do you remember the last night we saw each other, at the opera?"

"Yeah…  of course," I said, smiling.

"Well…  before Ben and Daniel came and sat down, I was going to tell you… how stunning you looked that night."  I could tell that even now, he was still a little nervous about saying things like that.

"You didn't have to say anything," I said.  "I've always known the way that you feel about me.  And trust me… the feeling is mutual."  We came to a gazebo in the middle of the park.  "Want to sit down?"

"Sure."

"So… forgive me if I'm out of line when I ask this, but how many girlfriends have you had?" I asked.

"It's OK, you can ask anything.  Well, I haven't had many—I could probably count all the girlfriends I've ever had on one hand," Maeda explained.  "Two of them have been within the last six months, and although I liked being with them, they weren't anyone I could have pictured being with long-term.  What about you?"

"Well, I was a cheerleader in high school and college, so naturally guys asked me out all the time.  But I've really only had a couple of serious relationships—not counting that time on the school bus in third grade when I kissed the cute boy who sat next to me in class!  Two years ago, I was engaged for about a year, but then I realized that he just wasn't the right guy for me."

"Sorry to hear that," he sympathized.  "So what happened?"

"Nothing really happened," I said.  "It's just that our relationship was more based on physical attraction than anything else.  I realized that I needed someone who had more to offer than just a pretty face."  I paused, looking into his eyes.  "So far, you haven't disappointed me."

"Well…  I was always told that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.  But now I know that that's not always true."

"Is that right?" I asked, feigning surprise.  I knew what he was referring to, but I just wanted to hear him say it.

"Yeah…  not only being back here in New York, but also seeing you again seems much too good to be true.  I missed seeing you, especially your eyes."  He gazed into my eyes, something he probably wouldn't have done six months ago.

When I was in the police academy, it was hammered into us on a daily basis that gut feelings are usually, if not always, right.  At that moment, it hit me that Maeda could very possibly be "the one."

I couldn't keep it to myself much longer.  I had to tell him.

"You know, I don't know how else to say this, but…" I began, taking both his hands into mine.  I could sense he was bracing himself for the worst.  I couldn't remember the last time I was this nervous telling a guy how I felt about him.  I took a deep breath.  "I think…  I'm falling in love with you."  

I can't even begin to describe what a relief it was telling him of my feelings!  He held me for what seemed like an eternity.  It was the best feeling in the world—I felt like we could just stay there forever.

"Aya…  I have been waiting so long…  to hear you say that," he said, just barely above a whisper.

"I know.  I was just waiting for the perfect time to say it."


End file.
